IA IA- Barbara Lee Elms, 50, Cedar Rapids, 25 Aug 1993

[Pennysmom1]

BARBARA LEE ELMS | Iowa Department of Public Safety

dps.iowa.gov

Name: Barbara Lee Elms
Age at Report: 50 YOA
Date of Birth: April 2, 1943
Weight: 150 lbs.
Height: 5′ 03″
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green/Hazel
Missing From: Cedar Rapids, IA
Linn County
Investigating Agency: Cedar Rapids

 

[Pennysmom1]

Barbara Elms

Barbara Lee Elms, 50, was reported missing to the Cedar Rapids Police Department on August 25, 1993.

iowacoldcases.org

Barbara Lee Elms was reported missing to the Cedar Rapids Police Department on August 25, 1993.

She was last seen heading toward First Avenue East, wearing white shorts, a multicolored blouse, black hose, hi-top sneakers, and a Walkman with earphones.

The 50-year-old Cedar Rapids woman had prior episodes of leaving for days at a time, but those times lasted only a few days and she always took along all her jewelry, makeup and clothes.

Elms was separated from her husband seven years prior to her disappearance and her mental illness had been increasing. He took steps to finalize a divorce in the summer of 1993, but promised he would continue to support his wife.

There is no indication at Elms’ residence that she took belongings for a trip. She did not take her purse, identification, or clothes. Soup that she apparently planned to eat on the day she disappeared was left out.

Elms had endured episodes of mental illness and consumption of prescription medication and alcohol. She had no fixed income, but refused to apply for help. Instead, she chose to work the garbage containers behind First Avenue East with friends.

Her ex-husband helped with rent, food and a little spending money. She dressed oddly and often mixed a dance step or a twirl into her paces along the strip on First Avenue East between Coe College and the Hy-Vee store. The fear of change in her life may have sent her on the run.

The ex-husband and daughter thinks she may be a bag lady in some other city. Just one month before Elms disappeared, she was sprayed with a chemical, hit over the head, and robbed of cigarettes in a southeast Cedar Rapids park.

A DNA sample has been submitted and tests are complete

 

[Pennysmom1]

767DFIA - Barbara Lee Elms

767DFIA - Barbara Lee Elms​

Name: Barbara Lee Elms
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: August 25, 1993
Location Last Seen: Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: April 2, 1943
Age: 50 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green/Hazel
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Suffers from mental illness and substance abuse

Identifiers​

Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: White shorts; multicolored blouse; black hose; high-top sneakers
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Walkman with earphones

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Barbara was last seen on August 25, 1993, by a neighbor dancing away from her residence at 513 16th Street SE, heading toward First Avenue East, wearing her Walkman and headphones. That night it rained heavily but she didn't return home. She has had prior episodes of vanishing, but only for a few days and in those instances, she always took all her jewelry, makeup, and clothes. All her personal items, including her purse, identification, and clothes were left at home. Soup that she planned to eat on the day she disappeared was left out. Her estranged husband filed a missing person report on August 29.

 

[Caring1]

Bump for Barbara

 

[spartanx]

Most likely she is deceased... I don't think her husband had anything to do with her disappearance... even when they were separated he helped her with money... poor woman, mental illnesses are terrible, they make you wander the streets aimlessly. You can't find a job for the same reason... I'm sorry that you had to look in the trash to eat... I wish I was somewhere living with homeless people at least I would be alive but I don't think so...
either way
rest in peace

 

[Pennysmom1]

Barbara Lee Elms – The Charley Project

• 

Elms, circa 1993

• Missing Since 08/25/1993
• Missing From Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 04/02/1943 (81)
• Age 50 years old
• Height and Weight 5'3, 150 pounds
• 
  
• Clothing/Jewelry Description White shorts, black hose, a multicolored blouse and high-top sneakers.
• Medical Conditions Elms had a history of mental illness and alcohol and prescription drug abuse. She is classified as disabled.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Elms often dances when she walks.

Details of Disappearance​

Elms resided in the 500 block of southeast 16th Street in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was last seen inside her home during the evening hours of August 25, 1993. Elms has never been heard from again.

She became estranged from her husband several years before her disappearance and they lived apart. Elms's husband stated she refused to apply for public assistance of any kind and lived in great poverty. He paid her rent and some of her other expenses, and she also scavenged for subsistence.

Elms's husband filed for divorce shortly before her disappearance; the divorce was finalized in November 1993. He promised her he would continue to support her financially. He stated she frequently went out at night alone, and was assaulted and robbed in a Cedar Rapids park the month before she disappeared.

Elms has a history of leaving without warning, but she was never gone for more than a few days, and she always took her possessions with her. At the time of her August 1993 disappearance, she took no belongings, not even her purse or identification. Soup she had planned to eat later that day was left out to rot, which is uncharacteristic of her.

Elms's loved ones believe she may be deceased or may be living homeless in another part of the country. Her case remains unsolved.

 

[rylie113]

Thoughts on Barbara being this doe in Alabama? She was found wearing high-top sneakers which Barbara was last seen wearing. Could align with the possibility of her living homeless in another part of the country - go south to be warmer? I think the resemblance is strong.